Broken Umbrellas of Belfast: Part 4

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Heard the singers playin', How we cheered for more.

The crowd had rushed together, tryin' to keep warm. 

Still the rain kept pourin', fallin' on my ears.

And I wonder, still I wonder who'll stop the rain.

~ Creedence Clear Water ~

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So, folks, it's been a while eh? 

It's been.... 5 months or so since my last entry? How disgraceful!  

Well, for anyone interested, I have been busy these past few months. This summer saw me traveling to Belgium, Sweden, and then Canada for a visit home, and even a wee trip down to New York City! I have neglected to update curious minds on my escapades, and I apologize profusely. 

But, what better way to get back in the game then update my blog with a classic! 

I have spoken to many friends who have said they quite enjoyed viewing strangely abandoned broken umbrellas in Belfast. I'm quite shocked actually.

Don't you all think that it's a rather strange obsession? I walk around town on rainy days and take random photos of broken umbrellas while people walk by thinking "Why is she taking a picture of that litter can, and that dirty awful bin liner lying on the street corner??". 

Well, if you guys like it, then fine, I will gladly continue do take pictures, it's the least I can do! 

Well, I walked around Belfast the other week, on a VERY rainy day.

Usually it rains a bit here and there, but this day was a wet one. Non-stop rain all day. 

AND low and behold... what did I find?!?!? 

CHECK IT OUT!

Broken Umbrellas of Belfast: Part 3 - May Day Edition

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Why does it always rain on me?

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It's May Day! woohooo!

Alright, so I don't really *know* what May Day is or why it exists, etc. All I know is that it seems to be another excuse for a holiday in the UK/Ireland. Coming from a country (ie. Canada) that does not have as many public holidays as the UK, it's hard for me to wrap my head around the idea that there is yet again another long weekend for schools, etc. If you work in the food service industry, (like myself at the moment) you definitely start to notice how often kids have "breaks" from their studies, and it certainly feels as though it is ALL THE TIME. 

Anywho, I digress. 

It's coming to the end of May Day today, and what a day for broken umbrellas!!! Today was also the Belfast Marathon which surely helped increase the ample amount of umbrellas scattered around the city. I should add that it was pouring this morning. Windy, and pouring. Cold as well...

As I walked to work today (upstream of the marathon walkers mind you), I witnessed many an umbrella on it's way to the umbrella graveyard. It was quite the site! Women struggled to use the wind to put their umbrellas back in shape, small children tried to protect their faces from splashes and others completely gave up and just held the poor things. I must admit, I sturggled with the wind and rain this morning. My umbrella was not in good form. I had to quit using it in fear that it would soon end up in a trash can. What is with these Belfast winds?!? Uncontrollable! 

So, today I saw many umbrellas, so much so that the following is not a collection of what I've found since the last blog post, it's actually just umbrellas from today! So that's quite a bit! I sent Patrick on a mission to hunt for broken umbrellas as well... but he forgot our camera at home, and apparently he saw many! Is it wrong that I'm actually kinda sad I don't have more images to share with you? 

So friends, here they are AFTER THE JUMP!

Broken Umbrellas of Belfast: Part 2

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I'm singing in the rain, just singing in the rain; what a wonderful feeling

I'm happy again. 

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Hello there!

It's time once again for the "ever popular".... Broken Umbrellas of Belfast blog post! wohooo! I know you folks have been dying for another segment, so I've been collecting some photos since my last post! 

I thought I would have to wait a bit until I shared more lovely photos of the deceased and abandoned umbrellas of Belfast seeing as I haven't seen many for months! But you know what happened? It rained heavily last week, and to my utter amazement, there was a goldmine of broken umbrellas around the city! 

So here you go...

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It's hard to see but it's there!

There you have it!!

I hope you enjoyed it. I know it's random... but isn't it impressive?!

Keep Smilin'!

Mon

Broken Umbrellas of Belfast : Part 1

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Don't threaten me with love, baby. Let's just go walking in the rain. 

Billie Holiday

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Fact: It rains in Ireland. 

A lot.
I mean, A LOT.

Now, though this fact is well known in Ireland, it seems that no matter what, the Irish get surprised each time it rains. Even though it rains on a regular basis, the Irish still get irritated, but still have faith that it won't rain when it's sunny. [Tip: Always assume that it will rain in Ireland, even when it's sunny.] Some are prepared, some are not. It rains so much that shops even supply wee plastic umbrella bags before you browse and potentially drip all over their products.

Now, you're probably wondering... why is this post called "Broken Umbrellas of Belfast". Well folks, it's because when I first arrived to Belfast, I noticed an abundance of broken umbrellas shoved into litter bins all over the city. This was especially noticeable after a sprinkle of rain. After seeing countless broken, and abandoned umbrellas, I decided to start documenting them.

I snapped the first photo a few weeks ago, but today, I came across 5 umbrellas all in the span of a 10 minute walk.

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Warning: 

The following contains explicit images of what happens on a typical Irish rainy day. 

This material may not be suitable for umbrella lovers. 

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  [Above Photo: It wasn't until I uploaded this photo did I notice that there were TWO umbrellas!]

So that's all for now folks. Next time it rains (which will be soon), I'll be sure to share more photos with you :) 

Protect your umbrellas everyone!!!

M.